Run
by Suni-Dlight
Summary: With the Battle of New York behind them and the future in front, Olive just wants to see what she can make of a life with Steve. She's ready to settle and start fresh. But when things start happening in SHIELD that don't quite add up, Olive realizes that she and Steve will never have the normal life she was hoping for.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Marvel or its Characters.**

* * *

It was dark.

It was dark and cold and she couldn't _breathe._

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath.

The walls were closing in around her, the space getting smaller.

She had to get out.

She had to get _out._

 _SHE HAD TO GET OUT!_

Olive shot up, gasping for air as she flung the covers off her. She stumbled through the dark room until she reached the bathroom, the cold tile underneath her bare feet jolting her a bit but not enough. She climbed into the bathtub, turning on the cold water and flicking the switch for the shower. Water cascaded down on her head, her curls and clothes sticking to her skin as she sunk down, wrapping her arms around her legs and pressing her forehead against her knees.

The dredges of her dream begin to wash down the drain with the water, leaving her shivering. She shook her head, water flying, streaming down her face. Just a dream. It was just a dream. She was safe, in Washington, D.C.. It was the year 2014 and everything was fine. She was in her apartment –

With Steve.

Involved was one way of putting it, she supposed, what the two of them had. It felt weird to call him her boyfriend, juvenile, when what they had was so much more than that. These past two years had proven that. Steve had taken his time about it, waiting until they had been on leave for nearly four months to ask her out on a date. She couldn't fault him though; she had said she wanted to take things slow which Steve didn't seem to mind either. It had taken them nearly the same amount of time to say 'I love you'. If that wasn't a way to feel whole, than Olive didn't know what was. Being with Steve was everything to her, honestly. They had the sort of relationship that, despite everything, just seemed to work.

Meeting Steve had changed her life, when she thought about it. Had she never met Steve, maybe (though she thought it was slim) Loki would have never tried to 'keep' her because he wouldn't be able to use her as a pawn in his sick game. She would have probably never left S.H.E.I.L.D, even temporarily. But all of that did happen and she did leave. Olive discovered, having so much more time on her hands, that she loved to read. She liked to explore, sometimes by herself, loved to try new things. She found she was a quick study, which she supposed she sort of knew already. She discovered herself and all of that happened because she met Steve. And with him here too, the nightmares didn't seem quite so bad.

Reaching forward, Olive turned off the water and looked up at him, who had come and sat down on the toilet while she was under. She pushed her wet hair out of her face. "Sorry."

"I was going to wake up soon anyway," Steve answered. "Go for a run."

"What time is it?"

"Four."

Olive chuckled. "Liar."

Smiling, Steve stood, grabbing her towel off the rack and holding it up for her. Olive stood as well and stepped forward, letting Steve wrap the towel around her. He held her in his arms, pressing his cheek against her head.

"It's been a while since you've had one that bad."

"Nerves, I guess," Olive answered. "I was back in the dark."

"So not Loki?"

"No. I didn't kill anyone either."

"Got a headache?"

"A small one, but nothing like before." Olive leaned back, smiling up at Steve. "I'm fine really. Just – nervous."

"You're going to be fine," Steve told her. "Think about it this way. Once it's finished, you'll be able to go on missions with me."

Olive poked her tongue out at Steve. It was true; she had been stuck on desk duty since they had returned to SHIELD and it was irritating. A ridiculous amount of therapy, mental and physical, sessions later, she thought she was ready to prove to Fury that she was fine to get back into the field. Paperwork wasn't her strong suit and she was sure tired of filing it.

"I don't think the world is ready for you, me and Nat to take it on," Olive admitted, moving the towel to her hair.

"You're probably right. We should get you out of those wet clothes."

"Should we?" Olive asked, giving him a smirk, loving to tease him because he made it so easy. A physical relationship had been something they had discussed a while after they said their first 'I love you', about whether to wait or just see what happened. Steve, after all, was a 1940s' guy (the respectful kind, not the sleazy kind) and, for him anyway, sex hadn't just been something you did. It was new territory for the two of them and the first time had been unplanned, caught up in the moment as they had been, but romantic and sweet and after that, well. . . .

"You know what I mean." Steve's ears had gone slightly pink.

Leaning up, Olive pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Come on, while we still have two more hours of sleep."

* * *

"How have you been feeling?"

Olive shifted uncomfortably on the couch, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Dr. Witon asked her nearly the same questions every time they met; she couldn't help but get annoyed by it.

"Fine."

"No nightmares?" Dr. Witon queried.

The swordswoman hesitated, considered lying but knew better of it. Dr. Witon was probably her longest lasting therapist and after about three sessions, she had managed to be able to read and manipulate Olive very easily. She supposed that was the mark of a good therapist and S.H.E.I.L.D agent. Olive sighed. "Just the one this morning. But I swear it's the first one I've had in a year."

Dr. Witon gave her a soft smile. "Nervous?"

"You could say that."

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

"That's what Steve said."

"Captain Rogers."

Again, Olive resisted rolling her eyes. "Yes."

Dr. Witon wrote something down in her book. "A while ago, you mentioned that you felt normal. Do you remember when you started to feel normal again?"

"It just sort of happened. I woke up and just knew that life wasn't nearly as horrible as I was trying to make it."

"Was that before or after Loki?"

"Definitely after."

"Is it because of Captain Rogers?"

Olive hesitated again, looking down at her shoes. "Partly," she said again.

"You two are involved."

"That's one way to put it."

"He makes you happy."

"Very."

"Have you two spent time apart since you went on leave?"

"Plenty. We didn't spend every waking moment together if that's what you're asking, not even after we became . . . 'involved'. He's often sent out of missions now too, so I don't see him a lot anymore."

"So, are you normal without him?"

"What Steve and I have is special, it means something. I didn't need him to fix me but he started me on my way."

"It's dangerous to have relationships in our line of business, to become dependent on someone."

"I'm not dependent on Steve. Our relationship has never been one of dependency. We got pushed together, yeah, but through that we became friends. When we took our leave, we spent time apart because we wanted to make sure what we felt for each other wasn't based on life-threatening situations."

"And you found that it wasn't?"

"We found that we work well together. He sees me and I see him. He takes me for what I am and I do the same for him. He doesn't define me and I don't define him. We're not the perfect couple but we work. That's not dependency, that's a relationship. I'll admit, if I hadn't met Steve, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now but I am and I wouldn't change it. I know who I am now and – I like me."

Dr. Witon was watching her carefully. "And who are you?"

A smirk came to her face and she felt it, not like when she used to have to fake emotions to fit in, lie to people's faces. "I'm Agent Olive May Warren. My codename is Glitch. I like to read and my favorite color is green. I'm not always a nice person, but I'm patient and I know how to have fun. Sometimes I get impatient, sometimes I'm rash but I know I'm a good team member. I don't have to pretend with people anymore and that feels good."

Dr. Witon wrote something down in her notebook again, before smiling at Olive, standing. "Are you ready?"

Immediately the nerves came back and Olive stood as well, shaking out her hands. "Um – sure."

"No need to be nervous, Agent Warren. It's only five feet."

"A lot can happen in five feet," Olive muttered, focusing on the spot.

"We've gone over this. Everything's going to be fine. Your body is no longer in distress as it was on that day. All that's left is you believing that you are capable of doing this."

"I am capable." Olive glared at the spot some more, as if willing it closer to herself, taking a deep breath. "I am capable."

"So prove it."

Olive Traveled.

When Olive returned from the darkness, she had been told that her powers were gone but, after further testing and study, Gemma Simmons, a truly brilliant woman, thought it might be possible for her to still do so. Still, Olive hadn't tried because she had been scared. After months of therapy, Dr. Witon had thought it would be good for her to at least try.

Five feet.

She could go five feet.

The world came back into focus again and Olive fell to her knees, gasping for air. Someone was saying her name, hands were pressed to her shoulders. She shook her head, trying to unclog her ears. When she looked up, Dr. Witon was smiling at her.

"Well done, Agent Warren."

* * *

 **A/N: So I decided to retry my hand at "Run"! I kind of already like the way that this one is starting already. Thanks for being so patient! I know the sequel to Glitch has been a long time coming.**


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